A lottery is a game where people pay for a ticket, select numbers or have machines do it for them, and win prizes if the numbers they pick match those that are randomly selected by a machine. The practice is a centuries-old one. It is also an enduring symbol of the American belief that, in a way, everyone has the chance to become rich and to change their lives for the better.
The first modern state lotteries started in the Northeast in the immediate post-World War II period as a way for states to expand their array of social safety net services without especially onerous taxes on middle and working class households. They grew to become popular among those who believed that the government should be in the business of distributing wealth, rather than raising and collecting money through taxes.
These days, a big part of the message behind state and national lotteries is that playing them is fun and that the experience of scratching off tickets is a satisfying activity that provides much-needed relief from the stress of everyday life. It’s a message that obscures how regressive lotteries really are and is coded to make the idea of winning seem less like an outright theft from poorer households.
People who play the lottery aren’t buying a ticket because they think that it is a wise investment. They are playing the lottery because they hope that they might be one of the lucky ones to stand on a stage someday and receive an oversized check for millions of dollars.